Under Certain Circumstances
by Buddy Williams
Summary: A draenei Paladin has long believed orcs to be creatures of pure evil. But, under certain circumstances, even the strongest beliefs can be changed.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I really, really, really like Horde/Alliance interaction. Which is weird because in game I'm always going out of my way to kill Allies. Go figure.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own World of Warcraft, I've stolen nothing from you, I don't own World of Warcraft, so Blizzard, please don't sue.

--

Under Certain Circumstances

It was dusk in Ashenvale. The setting sun had ignited the western sky with brilliant shades of orange and yellow, fading into tranquil indigo to the east, and finally the deep star-studded ebony of night. Fading beams of light pierced the canopy of verdant leaves, leaving trailing veils of golden sunlight that drifted down to the forest floor, scattering dappled patterns of light and shadow upon the ground. Occasionally, a leaf would fall from its branch, twisting and floating down and down through waves of liquid sunlight and eddies of blackest night, only to gently come to rest upon the soft, mossy grass. To Shanna, draenei and Paladin of the Holy Light, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Or, it would have been if she wasn't being attacked by giant spiders.

Whirling quickly to the left, she swung her war hammer in a wide arc, smashing into the side of a leaping spider and sending it soaring off into a tree. Behind her, a second spider leapt into the air, determined to sink it's fangs into her back. Seeing the movement in the corner of her eye, she spun around to face the pouncing arachnid, swinging her war-hammer upwards to land a crippling strike to the spider's abdomen. Suddenly, she felt a constricting pressure around her right arm, causing her to drop her hammer. Looking down, she saw a web of silk bound to her arm, trailing back to the spider which had shot it and was slowly reeling her towards it. Planting her feet firmly in the ground, Shanna called upon the Light to bless her with its holy power. Then, grabbing the silk web, she twisted around and jerked with all her might, causing the spider to be swung around by its own web and smash headfirst into a rock. The dying spider let out a horrible shriek of death, twitching violently as its insides spilled onto the ground. Though, almost as soon as it began, the shriek dwindled into nothing, the twitching stopped, and the spider curled up into the stiff pose of death.

Air flew from Shanna's lungs as she let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Panting lightly, she turned around to retrieve her war hammer. She found herself face to face with a rearing spider. She managed to throw her arms up in front of her face. Milliseconds later, the spider pounced. Over two hundred pounds of gigantic arachnid crashed into Shanna, sending her crashing to her back, the spider's bulk pinning her down. Inches from her face, massive fangs clawed at the air, held at bay by her armored forearms. The beast strained and writhed, desperate to sink its fangs into her tender flesh. She resisted the spider's assault with every fiber of her being, but still the fangs crept ever closer. Fat droplets of lethal venom began to gather at the fang's razor sharp tips and drop onto Shanna's face. She squirmed in pain as the deadly venom left trails of irritation as it ran down her cheeks.

With only seconds until she was overpowered, Shanna called out desperately to the Light. At first, there was nothing. Then, it was as though a tiny fire had been light deep within her soul. Almost immediately that fire grew into a raging cascade of Holy Power that filled her entire being with new strength and resolve until it seemed ready to overflow. With a mighty roar of defiance, she channeled the might of the Holy Light up her arms, through her hands, and into the belly of the foul beast. The spider was sent careening across the clearing, landing in a heap on the forest floor. Instantly, Shanna was on her feet, sprinting toward the prone spider. Scooping up her hammer, she crossed the distance to the beast almost instantly, hoisting her hammer above her head, and slamming it down with all her might. The giant spider's head was pulped by the impact.

Whirling around, she inhaled deeply and let out a roar, "WHO ELSE WANTS SOME!?"

The chirping of birds and humming of insects was her only answer. Sighing bitterly, she swung her hammer back onto her back and began setting up camp for the night.

Several hours, a bowl of roasted spider leg soup, and a trip to the bushes later, Shanna sat staring at her campfire. The dancing flames were hypnotic in a way; always moving, never stopping, no pattern, and never the same. Under the influence of the flames, her mind quickly wandered from the present. Almost reflexively, she pondered the events that had led her to her current quest.

--

Shanna had always been something of an inquisitive child. She had wanted to know more about her people; where they came from, why they left, what they were doing now. She had spent the majority of her childhood in the Vault of Lights in the Exodar, reading and learning about her peoples' legacy. She had not been pleased by what she had seen. Everywhere her people went, they were attacked, the victims of an endless series of genocide after genocide. She came to hate the monsters that had decimated her people. Especially the orcs. Soon, just the thought of them made her blood boil. Their vile green skin, barbaric tusks, eyes glowing with demonic fire, and their berzerk lust for blood and battle convinced her that the only good orc was a dead orc.

Years later, a natural affinity for the Light and its blessings manifested in her. Priests approached her with offers of apprenticeship, but she turned them down. She knew her place was not in the medical corps. Her place was on the frontlines, striking down the enemies of her people; giving the Horde, giving the orcs, a taste of their own foul medicine. With that single, driving motive, she sought out a Paladin trainer and eagerly apprenticed under him.

For almost a decade, she learned the ways of the Paladin. She learned how to call upon the Holy Light, to defer to rightful authority, to act with honor and chivalry at all times, and most importantly, to defend the principles of the Light with her life if necessary. Her induction into the Draenic order of Paladins had been the happiest day of her life.

Soon however, things had gone wrong.

After returning from a mission to slay the marauding bear, Deathclaw, she had been called to the office of her former trainer.

"Greetings, Shanna," he had said.

"Greetings to you as well, sir."

"Shanna, do you know why I have called you here?"

"I do not, sir."

"Well, there seems to be an… issue with your conduct."

"An issue, sir?" she had asked.

"Yes," he had responded, "You see, word has it that you have been rather… overzealous in your missions recently."

"I don't know what you mean, sir."

"Perhaps if I read you the report filed about a mission you completed a few days ago. Ahem: _Paladin was instructed to capture a Horde messenger and deliver the tactical information he was carrying to the Prophet Velen. Paladin instead assaulted the messenger with deadly force, severely beating him until stopped by members of her party. At this point, the Paladin became aggressive toward her own party and had to be restrained for the remainder of the mission._"

"The only problem I see there, sir, is that their treasonous and blasphemous acts have gone unpunished."

Her trainer had sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "And that, Shanna, is precisely the problem. I admire your ardent commitment to the betterment of the Draenei people, but fanaticism is never the right answer."

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't feel that beating a creature that is responsible for the bloody decimation of our race is fanaticism," she had responded coldly.

Her trainer had simply shaken his head, "That kind of willingness to participate in acts of brutal violence is fanaticism."

"But sir, I-,"

"Under _any_ circumstances. No exceptions. Violence should be a Paladin's last resort, not their first tactic. Do you understand?"

Shanna had paused and composed herself, "Sir, I was raised to believe that a Paladin's mission, nay, her purpose, was to uphold the tenants of the Holy Light by dispatching those who oppose it."

Her trainer had merely smiled sadly, "You forget, Shanna; the most important teaching of the Light is forgiveness."

So she had been given an involuntary leave of absence; told to report to the mainland in with the mission of meditating on the peace of the Light. Naturally, she had decided that this was unacceptable. Her superior had obviously lost his perspective of what truly mattered if he could consider her righteous act an act of fanaticism. Therefore, the first thing she had done on the mainland was ask around for any tasks that needed performing. Soon a Night Elf had approached her about a demon infestation in Felfire Hill that needed cleansing. Eager to smite those foul affronts to the Light from the face of Azeroth, she had set out immediately across Ashenvale. The rest, as they say, was history.

--

A light tingling on the tip of her nose jerked her out of her stupor. Sitting bolt upright, she immediately squinted and shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight.

"Must have dozed off," she muttered, standing up to work the kinks out of her back.

With brisk, military efficiency, she cleaned up her campsite, donned her armor, shouldered her war hammer, and set off towards Felfire Hill. Trudging along the road, she walked for what seemed like hours, passing what seemed like the same trees over and over again. Occasionally, a fellow traveler would pass her, walking in the opposite direction. Cordial greetings were exchanged and the two would go their separate ways. After almost a half-day's travel, she was within a stone's throw of the bridge that marked the border to Felfire Hill. She was prepared to continue, when a sudden rustle in the bushes across the bridge gave her pause. She watched the shrubs warily as they rustled again, then once more. Finally, two hands reached out and parted the branches. Two green hands. Out from the undergrowth and towards the bridge, strode a fully-grown male orc. Shanna's hand flew to the war hammer at her back and she drew in breath to call out a challenge. That orc would not live to see tomorrow.

--

Kul'dor was having a bad day. He'd woken up to a very large, very hungry bear rummaging through his supply pack; kept killing wolves only to find that they _somehow_ didn't have any livers to harvest for his new alchemy recipe; and had gotten a really, really nasty paper cut while opening one of his quest scrolls to double-check a location. So, when a heavily armored and very pissed-off looking draenei woman appeared out of nowhere and started yelling at him in some gibberish language, Kul'dor wanted nothing more than to cleave her open with his axe and call upon the spirits of fire to burn her remains to ashes. Then stomp all over the ashes.

But, as his trainer had said, _"Kul'dor, the way of the Shaman is the way of patience, wisdom, and virtue. You should never be afraid to fight, but you should also never be afraid to make peace."_

So, albeit reluctantly, he raised his hands in the universal gesture of 'I mean you no harm', and called out in Common to the draenei woman, "I apologize if my sudden appearance startled you. I mean neither you nor the Alliance any harm. My mission here was one of cleansing: destroying the demons whose presence is angering the elements. There is no need for violence; we can both leave here in peace."

The draenei woman looked shocked, obviously not expecting him to be able to speak Common. Typical Alliance. They thought Common was some sort of secret language only they could know. Pah! It was called _Common_ for Thrall's sake! _Common_, as in 'everybody and their mother speaks this language'. To her credit though, the draenei woman recovered remarkably quickly, shifting from a surprised stare to a death glare in seconds.

"Peace!?" she cried out in Common, "You, you filthy verdant barbarian dare to speak to me about peace?! Where was the peace when your kind brokered deals with demons? Where was the peace when your bloodthirsty rampages claimed the lives of countless innocents? Where was the peace when you slaughtered everything that moved and drank the blood of the dead and dying? You will get no peace from me until every one of your filthy kind are dead and left to rot in the sun!"

Okay, diplomacy time was over.

With a battle roar, Kul'dor unsheathed his battle-axe and donned his shield, taking up a defensive stance. The female draenei was already charging him, the head of her massive, two handed war-hammer cutting a shallow trench in the ground. Reaching melee range, she swung the hammer up in a powerful arc. Kul'dor barely managed to raise his shield into position before the crippling blow hit home. The blow was so strong that he was knocked backward, shield and all. Hitting the ground and rolling to his feet, he looked up to see the draenei woman charging him again. Calling upon the spirits of the earth, he turned the ground beneath her feet to entrapping mud, causing her to fall flat on her face. Eagerly seizing the opportunity, Kul'dor called upon the spirits of the sky. Almost instantly, electrical energy crackled at his fingertips, and he sent a white-hot bolt of lightning jetting toward the female draenei.

The bolt shot forward with deadly accuracy, bathing the woman and the area around her in vicious electrical mayhem. Or at least, it seemed like it did. Instead of jerking and convulsing, the draenei woman stood up. Only then did Kul'dor see the glowing bubble of holy energy surrounding her.

"Of course, she's a Paladin," he muttered, "it just wouldn't be unfair enough if she wasn't."

As her holy shield dissipated, the Paladin hoisted her war-hammer high and a bright light from the heavens seemed to shine down upon her and fill her with power.

'Well,' thought Kul'dor, 'two can play at that game.'

With a mighty roar, Kul'dor called upon the powers of all the elements. In response to his call, totems erupted from the earth, each granting him the powers of its element. The warriors charged. Swinging her hammer in a downward arc, the Paladin blasted a crater in the ground that Kul'dor had been standing on only moments before. Now, however, he was in mid leap, axe swinging downward to cleave and sunder. The woman leaped to the side, causing him to cleave nothing but dirt. Leaping at him again, she whirled around, building up momentum for an earth-shattering swing of her hammer, aimed directly at his skull.

Knowing better than to try and block such an attack, Kul'dor ducked low under the strike, then swung his axe low and fast, aiming for her shins. Reacting quicker than he had expected, the draenei woman leapt over his axe. However, she did not avoid his shield, which followed the axe and bashed her across the body, sending her sprawling across the ground. In a flash, Kul'dor was swinging his axe downward at her prone form, but the Paladin quickly rolled out of the way onto her back. Then, without even getting up, she swung her hammer sideways and struck a glancing blow into his ribcage. Kul'dor went down gasping, the blow throbbing with holy fire.

Rolling over, the draenei woman again swung her hammer in an arc towards his sternum; but Kul'dor raised his shield and blocked the strike, rolling over to his left to put some distance between himself and the Paladin. Undeterred, the woman simply rolled over again and used the momentum to swing her hammer at his chest once more. Jerking his shield up, Kul'dor managed to block the second blow and roll away again, but the Paladin woman just kept coming! The two rolled almost twenty yards that way before Kul'dor managed to flip himself up in a backward somersault and stomp his foot down where the draenei woman's head had been only seconds earlier.

Quickly rolling to her feet, the draenei Paladin shifted her grip to much higher on her war-hammer and began striking at Kul'dor with the spiked hilt end. Without the weight of the head to swing, the hilt-end was an almost blindingly fast spear that took all of Kul'dor's concentration to prevent from gutting him. On the defensive now, he realized he was being backed up against a tree. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, he leaped up, braced both legs against the trunk, and lunged forward, shield up, like a battering ram. The draenei woman wasn't quite fast enough to avoid him, and was checked on the shoulder, sending her spinning. Kul'dor hit the ground and rolled to his feet, spinning to face the female Paladin. Seeing her temporarily incapacitated, he seized the opportunity to call forth a totem of fire.

Looking back to the Paladin, he saw nothing but a hammer headed directly for his face. The blow sent him reeling; holy power entered his mind and locked down him limbs. He was completely helpless. Looking up blearily, he saw the draenei woman smirk with savage glee and raise her hammer over her head in preparation to finish him off. Only to be hit in the back with a wave of fire that sprang from his totem. The female Paladin collapsed before him. His mind now back in working order, he summoned the spirits of fire one last time, and his battle-axe ignited in an aura of flickering flames. Leaning close to the draenei woman, he placed his axe's blade at her throat and looked into her eyes, preparing to end it all.

Preparing to end it all.

To end… it all.

To… end it all….

…

Damn it.

Sighing angrily he withdrew his axe and stood up.

"I told you I meant you no harm, and now I'm proving it. I'm leaving now, and personally I hope we never see each other again."

The draenei woman looked at him with a mixture of outrage and confusion. Suddenly, her gaze turned to pure terror.

Kul'dor sighed, "Now what is it?" he asked.

Then he felt it: the prickle of hot breath on his scalp. His entire body went rigid. Slowly, ever so slowly, he craned his neck up as far as he could. Looking down at him was the most massive Felguard he had ever seen. That was when everything went black.

--

**Author's Note**: Dun Dun Duuun!!


	2. Chapter 2

For the second time in twenty four hours, Shanna woke up with a start. This time, however, she was not in a grassy meadow. The place she was in was neither grassy, nor meadow-y. It was dark, and dank, and smelled vile. Looking around, she saw nothing but a stalactite-covered rock ceiling and a wall of iron bars. So, she was underground in cage in a cave somewhere. Wonderful. Suddenly, around a corner walked a large, vicious-looking Felguard. Shanna's hand immediately flew to her back to grab her hammer, but came up with empty air. The demon, however, simply kept walking by, as if it didn't even notice her. Sighing with relief, she took stock of her situation. She was missing her weapon, her armor was gone, and… her left arm was shackled. Looking down at her left forearm, she saw strange, demonic runes skittering across the surface of the metal binding. Experimentally, she tried calling to the Light for help. No answer. Apparently, the bindings were warding off her divine magic. Looking closer, she noticed a chain connected to the shackle. Her eyes following the length of the chain. She estimated it to be about a foot long and connected to another warded shackle. Which was connected to an arm. A green arm. Chained to her arm was the orc that had tried to kill her.

Shanna immediately tried to scramble away, the events of the fight instantly returning to her. He had been ready to kill her! But… she frowned as she remembered… he had stopped. He'd had the perfect opportunity to kill her, but didn't. It… had to be a trick! That was the only explanation; bloodthirsty monsters didn't show mercy. Looking back at the orc, she noticed that he was beginning to stir; her scrambling must have woken him from his stupor. She looked around desperately for a weapon, but there was none to be found. She was defenseless. Suddenly, the orc opened his eyes and looked directly at her. He simply stared blankly for what seemed like an eternity, then his brain evidently registered what he was seeing and he grunted in surprise and scrambled backwards. Unfortunately, because Shanna was chained to his arm, his scrambling only yanked her on top of him, sending them both collapsing to the floor.

"Ugh! You oaf!" she yelled in Common.

"What? What is going on here?" the orc questioned.

Scrambling off of the green-skinned beast, Shanna adopted an air of condescending superiority.

"What's going on is that you've been locked up like the monster that you are," she answered.

"You realize that you're locked up too, right?" the orc questioned sardonically.

"True, but I'm not the monster here."

"You've got horns and a tail. That seems pretty monstrous to me."

"W-why you," she spluttered, "I am not a monster!"

"Sure you are," the orc said cheerfully, "hell, you've even got the cloven hooves!"

She bared her teeth in defiance.

"Oooh, fangs too!"

She immediately closed her mouth.

"Rest assured orc, if I had my weapon right now I would like nothing more than to cave in your impertinent little skull," she snarled.

"Well, let's see here," the orc said, ticking off his fingers, "You've got horns, a tail, cloven hooves for feet, fangs, and apparently have a healthy appetite for violence. I'd almost call it bloodthirstiness. I think the monster in here is definitely you."

Shanna gaped at the orc. She worked her jaw, trying to come up with a retort. Eventually she settled on turning around and sitting with her back to him. Several minutes passed. From behind her, she heard the orc heave a sigh.

"Look, lady… I-I'm…s…s-soo….soooo…. I'm sorry."

Shanna's jaw almost hit the floor. An apology? From an orc? What madness was going on here?

"I was just angry," the orc continued, "about what you said before we fought."

A few more minutes passed in awkward silence.

"Alright, look," the orc finally blurted out, "We can either stay here and undergo whatever horrific ritual those demons have in mind for us; or we can break out of here and go on to live happy, fulfilled lives. Personally, I prefer the second option."

"Just what are you suggesting?" Shanna asked him.

"I'm suggesting that, only under the current circumstances, it would be beneficial to work together."

"Never," Shanna replied immediately.

"Alright, fine," the orc replied, throwing up his hands and accidently dragging hers up with them, "We'll just die horrific deaths instead."

Several more minutes passed of tense silence.

"Alright," Shanna said.

The orc turned around to look at her, an eyebrow quirked, "Alright, what?"

"We'll… work together," she spat out with distaste, "but only until we've escaped this hellhole. After that, I swear by the Light that I'll kill you personally."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the orc muttered.

Standing up, he walked over toward the bars, dragging a disgruntled Shanna along with him. He studied the wall of crisscrossing iron so intently that Shanna was caught off guard when he spoke up again.

"My name is Kuldor. Do you have a name or should I just call you 'draenei woman'?"

"Yes, I have a name," Shanna snapped, "but I don't give it to abominations."

"Whatever you say, draenei woman," the orc, Kuldor responded mildly.

After a few more moments of inspecting the bars, Kuldor again turned to address her.

"Well, draenei woman, I think I've figured it out. Now, draenei woman, remember, I don't know if this is exactly true, but, draenei woman, I think that these bars would be inescapable by someone such as yourself, draenei woman. I think this is because, drae-"

"Shanna!" she practically screamed. Inhaling deeply and letting out a calming breath, she continued, "My name is Shanna, not draenei woman."

Kuldor gave her a tusky smile, "Shanna, eh? That's a nice name."

She'd been given a compliment by an orc. She felt dirty.

"Just tell me what you've theorized about our confinement," she said.

Kuldor shrugged and stroked his bearded chin, "From what I can gather, there appears to be no door or passage of entry anywhere on the wall. It's just a slab of iron bars wedged into an alcove in this cave system. However, do you see those big handles on the other side? They probably plan to 'open' this cage by simply yanking the bars out."

"So how, exactly are we supposed to escape?" Shanna asked.

"Well, I suppose we could just tackle the bars from this side. That would probably knock them loose. I don't think that would be a good idea though, it would make a lot of noi-"

But Shanna was already backing up, dragging her with him.

"Wait, this is a bad-,"

"Shut up and charge," she said, and sprinted shoulder-first for the bars.

Kuldor's only choice was to sprint along with her and hope for the best. With a deafening 'CLANG', the two hit the bars with the combined force of a charging tauren. Yielding to the force of impact, the bars broke from their wedged moorings and toppled over onto the floor, creating yet another deafening crash that echoed throughout the cave system. Before Shanna could even think, Kuldor was dragging her to her feet and sprinting towards a side tunnel with her in tow.

"We have to get out of here before the demons come to investigate the commotion!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Together they ran through the twisting maze of tunnels away from their cage. Turning a corner, both immediately skidded to a stop. Directly in front of them stood a surprised looking imp. It stared at them. They stared at it. With blinding speed, Shanna raised her hoof and send it stomping down at the imp's tiny body. But with equally blinding speed, the thing squeaked and jumped to the side, then took off running between her legs and down the hall. She whirled to give chase, but a hand at her shoulder stopped her.

"We'll never catch it," Kuldor said, "We have to keep moving."

Behind them, impish chattering could be faintly heard. The ensuing roars and howls, however, were much easier to hear.

Instantly, the two whirled around and sprinted down the hall in the opposite direction of the imp. Bounding across a patch of craggy, uprooted rocks, the two emerged in a large cavern, crisscrossed with stone bridges and pillars. A large cavern filled with demons.

With a mighty roar, a felguard standing on a stone bridge above them leaped down and landed before them, smashing stone under its feet. Brining up its massive sword, it swung straight down, aiming to dismember and kill. Kuldor and Shanna each leapt in separate directions, but the chain binding them snapped taught, preventing them from moving any further. The demons fel sword swooped down, cleaving right into the taught chain and snapping the two back together. Looking at the entangled sword then back at each other, something happened. Looking back on it later, Shanna would compare it to looking in a mirror; seeing the same intent written all over another's face. Whatever the case, in that moment, something passed between Kuldor and Shanna. Whirling in unison, the two faced the demon and sent two powerful kicks directly into its stomach.

The beast's massive sword was wrenched from its hand as it toppled backwards. Immediately, what seemed like hundreds of demons leapt into the fray. Whirling around and taking off in a dead sprint, the two saw a succubus blocking their way. Picking up speed, they held out the chain between them, brutally clothslining the demon without breaking pace. The two sprinted up and around a stone ramp which wound around a gigantic pillar, running straight into another felguard. Without even thinking, Shanna leaped into the air, took two steps along the rock wall, and spun her hoof in spinning kick directly into the side of the demon's face, knocking the bellowing creature off the path and into a group of demons gathered below.

Reaching the top of the pillar, the two headed for a stone bridge directly in front of them. However, the stone bridge was currently being used by several hundred pounds of charging demon. As the fiend charged closer, the two slid feet first across the floor in unison, the chain between them knocking the demon's feet out from under it. Jumping to their feet, the two ran to the bridge, but halfway across the demons below began hurtling boulders at the structure. The bridge shattered from the impact, sending the two hurtling down to the floor below. Leaping off the falling bridge, the two landed on top of a felguard, sending him crashing to the floor.

Springing to their feet, the two realized they were surrounded. Demons advanced on all sides. Shanna began to despair, but surprisingly, Kuldor called out to her.

"Trust me and follow my lead!"

Whirling around, the brawny orc grabbed the chain that bound them to each other and with a massive heave, swung her legs first at the first demon. Shanna did the first thing that occurred to her: she swung her hooves into the demon's face and chest. With a mighty roar, Kuldor continued the motion, swinging her in a several complete circles, her hooves battering and smashing at every demon around them. Landing back on the ground, she noticed a remaining felguard charging them from the rear.

"Look out!" she screamed, and Kuldor whirled around to face the beast. This time it was her turn to yell, "Follow my lead!"

The demon was upon them almost instantly, leaping through the air in a lethal tackle. In unison, Shanna and Kuldor fell backwards, the demon landing on their curled legs. Then, using the beast's momentum against it, they kicked up and backwards, sending the creature hurtling into another demon attempting to charge them from behind, knocking both to the floor.

Suddenly, a whip lashed out and wrapped itself around the chain connecting them. The two whirled around to see a savagely grinning succubus had entrapped them. The two looked at each other, nodded, and each grabbed the whip. The surprised demon was swung by her own whip in a wide arc, directly into the two felguards trying to get up. Without a moment's pause, the two bolted for a tunnel that left the cavern. Sprinting up the tunnel, the two emerged in the upper level of another cavern crisscrossed by bridges and ramps. Directly in front of them lied a bridge leading to a raised stone mesa, another bridge, and another tunnel entrance. On those rock formations stood dozens of demons.

The felguard patrolling the bridge immediately charged them. Before Shanna could react, Kuldor had jumped in front of her. She could see his muscles tensed in anticipation and could feel her shackles began to tug… upwards. He wouldn't. He wouldn't dare… Her thoughts were cut off as he swung her up and over his head with a monumental effort. Flying through the air, she brought her hoof down in a crippling axe kick right onto the skull of the charging demon. The beast crumpled sideways and toppled off the stone bridge. More demons charged across the bridge at them. Shanna wasted no time. Turning around to Kuldor behind her, she put a hoof in his gut and rolled backwards.

"Wha-!?" was all that he could say before he was carried up and over and smashed into the charging demons in a reverse body-slam. Before the winded orc could protest, Shanna was dragging him up and over the prone bodies of the demons. The two sprinted across the next bridge and into another tunnel. Running forward, Shanna was surprised when she was suddenly jerked backwards by her shackles. Whirling around, she saw Kuldor looking at a small alcove.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"Look," he said, pointing at a wooden chest on the ground.

Kneeling quickly, he popped open the lid and looked inside. Inside lied what looked like the collected armor and weapons of dozens of former victims. Hastily, the two searched out their own armor and threw it on. Kuldor retrieved his battle-axe and prepared to leave, but Shanna held him back.

"I can't find my war-hammer!" she exclaimed.

Kuldor reached in the chest and pulled out an ornate, single-handed mace.

"Use this," he said, handing it to her, "You wouldn't be able to use a two-handed hammer anyway."

Reluctantly, she hefted the mace experimentally, mildly surprised to find it a comfortable fit to her hand and a good weight for swinging. Before she could comment, Kuldor was dragging her up the tunnel. Quickly emerging from the tunnel mouth, the two once again found themselves in a large cavern, this one completely empty. Empty, that is, except for the horde of demons that simultaneously turned to face them.

The two took a step back. Kuldor's eyes darted around the cavern. He saw several felhunters, dozens of imps, a few succubae, at least fifty felguards, and a ceiling covered in stalactites.

"Shanna, scream as loud as you can," he said.

"What?" she asked.

But Kuldor was already bellowing at the top of his lungs. His powerful war-cry filled the cavern with reverberating echoes that spoke to Shanna of blood and battle. Seeing no alternative, she inhaled deeply and screamed as loud as she possibly could, her shrieking cries mixing with his deep roars. The demons raised their own voices in challenge, roaring, shrieking, howling, and screeching their defiance at the two of them. The cavern was almost shaking with the deafening noise. Suddenly, a stalactite broke loose from the ceiling and plummeted to the floor, spearing the unlucky felhunter beneath it. It was followed by hundreds more. A cascade of razor-sharp rock dropped from the cavern ceiling, butchering the assembled demons below and raising a cloud of debris.

When the dust cleared, Shanna and Kuldor saw all that remained of the demon army was a pile of rocks and a few twitching limbs. Then a rock shifted. Then another rock shifted. Bursting from beneath the scattered debris, dozens of the largest and toughest demons emerged and charged straight for the chained pair. Taking battle stances, the two simultaneously charged back. In the middle of the cavern, roughly twenty demons, an orc Shaman, and a draenei Paladin met in combat. Chaos ensued.

Shanna was all power and righteous might; smashing and crushing, blocking and counterattacking. Kuldor was a razor-sharp whirlwind of lethality; cutting, cleaving, evading and sweeping. A demon's arm was lopped off and it's skull caved in at the same time. A felguard dodged a mace to the ribs only to be decapitated an instant later. A sword would be swung at Kuldor's back, only for its wielder to have his face smashed by a mace before his blow could land. A fist would fly at Shanna's unguarded face, only to fall on the ground; removed from its arm by Koldor's axe.

Turning to the right, Shanna saw a massive blade swinging toward her head. Ducking the strike, she lashed out in retaliation, calling upon the Light to lend her strength on reflex. To her surprise, her weapon was filled with Holy power and the demon was blasted backwards from the force.

"Kuldor, I think the wardings are wearing off!"

Experimentally, Kuldor called upon the spirit of the wind, and felt its whispery answer. Grinning savagely, he called louder, and a raging maelstrom whirled into the cavern, sweeping demons from their feet. Next to him, empowered by the Light, Shanna was a blur of motion, her mace smashing and crushing everything that moved. Smashing a demon's arm, then leg, she literally glowed with Holy power as she thrust her hand into the demon's chest and blasted him with a tidal wave of searing Light. The demon was burnt to ashes immediately.

Panting and breathing heavily, the two looked around the cavern. Dead demons and rocky debris littered the floor. Stillness crept into the air. Slowly, Kuldor began to laugh. Deep, hearty laughter; the kind that stems from relief more than humor. Shanna couldn't help herself; she burst out laughing as well. The two were a strange sight, surrounded by the broken bodies of demons, shaking uncontrollably, and laughing hysterically.

ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR

The two froze as a deafening roar filled the cavern, originating from the tunnel they had just left. In another instant, the two were sprinting madly for the tunnel on the opposite side of the cavern. Running up the tunnel slope, the two saw a glimmer of light ahead.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Running even faster, the two burst from the tunnel; right toward the edge of a cliff. Shanna desperately tried to skid to a stop. For a few seconds, she stood teetering at the edge of oblivion. Then Kuldor slammed into her back, sending her hurtling off the edge. Time seemed to slow down as she was thrust out into space.

She had heard it said that in a life or death situation, one's life was supposed to flash before their eyes, and by the Light, her's did. She saw herself as a little girl growing up in the Exodar, so full of hate… As a fledgling Paladin to the Light pledging to rid the world of each and every orc… As a woman who emerged into the world with the single-minded goal of doing exactly what the orcs did to make her hate them so much: attempt the genocide of an entire race.

A sudden jerk of her left arm snapped her out of it. Looking up, she saw Kuldor grabbing the chain that connected them, straining with all his might to pull her up. She stared blankly. An orc was trying to save her life. An orc had previously had every opportunity to kill her, but refused, offered aid in a life or death situation, fought alongside her in battle, and now he was trying to save her life. She could almost feel her perceptions of the world, once so rigid and secure, break and shatter into a million pieces.

With a mighty heave, Kuldor hoisted her out of the abyss and on to the small strip of land that jutted out from the cliff face. The two collapsed on the ground.

"I… you… you saved me..," Shanna murmured in amazement.

Kuldor shrugged weakly, "Well, I wasn't going to just let you die…"

"Thank you," Shanna said, and she meant it.

Kuldor smiled and looked up at the night sky.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. He quickly turned to look at the source. What seemed at first glance like a big pile of rocks began to shift and move.

"Shanna…" Kuldor warned.

Shanna looked over just as the rocks assembled themselves into a humanoid shape, demonic green fire sprouting between them, linking them together. Taking a massive step forward, the creature let out a deafening bellow. Shanna and Kuldor did the only thing they could. They turned tail and ran for their lives.

The two sprinted along the rocky outcropping, a brutal death by demonic monster behind them, and a hundred-foot fall to their left. Looking ahead, Shanna saw the outcropping dwindle in to nothing a few dozen yards away. They were trapped. Desperate for an escape route, she suddenly notices a withered vine that emerged from the rocky cliff face and stretched off into the darkness. A thought crossed her mind. An absolutely insane thought. Leaping as high as she could, she flipped over the vine, looping the chain over it.

"What are you… oh no, never, not in a million years," Kuldor said.

But Shanna was already jumping.

"But I'm afraid of heiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiights!!" Kuldor screamed as he was dragged along with her. Behind them, the massive monster of fire and rock could do nothing but roar in frustration. The two shot out into space, sliding across the vine at an insane pace, screaming their lungs out. Jutting boulders and withered trees shot past them as the two zipped through the narrow canyon. After a few seconds that seemed to stretch on into eternity, the two shot out of the demon-infested canyon and out into fresh air. Abruptly, the vine snapped, sending the two tumbling several feet to land in a heap on the ground.

Getting up and stumbling as far away from Shanna as he could manage, Kuldor vomited all over the grass.

"I-I think we're free," Shanna said.

"**Wrong."** The voice seemed to come from every direction.

Shanna whirled around and drew her mace, searching for hidden enemies. Kuldor composed himself and drew his axe as well.

"**The folly of mortals never ceases to amuse me. You, two pitiful excuses for warriors actually thought you could escape ME?!" **

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Shanna demanded.

"**Who am I? I am many things. I am the nameless horror that makes hardened warriors tremble. I am the cold chill of terror that makes your hair stand on end. I am the bottomless shadow that swallows up all hope and light. I am death incarnate."**

"Show yourself!" Kuldor demanded.

Dark laughter filled the air. The temperature seemed to plummet. Shanna shivered, despite herself. A well of inky blackness seemed to be forming in the entrance to the canyon. Shanna felt her eyes drawn to its impenetrable depths. From the darkness stepped a massive, cloven hoof. Another soon followed. Looking up, Shanna saw the demon in all of its horrifying glory. Thirty feet tall, adorned with giant horns, massive wings, and terrible rending claws, the beast stood like an offensive assault on everything good and right.

"**Look upon me and despair, mortals. Your fates are sealed."**

"My kind has fought off demons worse than you, monster!" Kuldor shouted.

The monster only let loose its horrible laugh once again.

"**You are no Grom Hellscream, whelp." **

Kuldor stiffened.

**"I would have ordered you killed immediately if it wasn't for a shortage of virgins recently. But I assure you, by the time the ritual is complete, you will wish I had simply killed you."**

Kuldor turned beet red, "I'm not a vir-," then seeing Shanna's look, he grunted. "Never mind."

**"You have two options. You can choose the way of horrific agony, or you can choose the way of even more horrific agony. You have five seconds to choose."**

Kuldor looked at Shanna; she met his gaze.

"I say we choose a third option," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing," she answered.

Holding her mace high, Shanna called upon the Light. Digging his axe into the earth, Kuldor called upon all the spirits of the elements.

**"So, I see you choose the most agonizing route possible. I had rather hoped you would."**

Ignoring his taunts, Shanna continued to focus on the Light. It's glorious majesty filled her, but still she called for more. The air around her began to shine and glow with Holy power, but still she called for more. The Light was a bonfire within her; an unstoppable force that buoyed her soul and invigorated her body. Next to her, Kuldor was channeling what seemed like the entire force of the elements of Azeroth. The earth trembled at his feet, tongues of flame licked the across his armor, the wind howled in fury, and frost began to creep across the ground.

Holding her mace high, Shanna poured all of her power, all of her rage, and the might of the Light into her weapon. The mace was so overloaded with Holy power that it shone like the sun and the air around it crackled and sparked. Similarly, Kuldor lifted his axe; earth, flame, wind, and frost all pouring into its bladed head until looking at it was painful.

Seeing this massive display of power, the demon across from them began gathering dark energy to himself. The night seemed to condense around him, taking physical form in twin orbs of blackness held in his hands.

Rearing back, Shanna and Kuldor hurtled their weapons with all their might at the foul abomination. Simultaneously, he fired a horrific blast of pure darkness back at them.

A massive explosion rocked Ashenvale.

Shanna and Kuldor were thrown back against the trees by the force of the blast. When the dust cleared, the gigantic demon stood before them. His face was an expression of perfect shock as he looked down at the two weapons imbedded in his chest.

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"**

The demon's form began to lose definition, shifting into a shadowy vortex that seemed to suck itself ever smaller until it eventually imploded into nothing. With no demon to lodge in, the weapons fell to the ground.

Silence fell upon the clearing.

Eventually, Shanna spoke up, "I-I think we…"

"Don't jinx it," Kuldor interrupted.

Shanna laughed. Kuldor laughed. They both simply laid there, backs against a tree, laughing hysterically. Eventually, their laughter died down, and the two struggled to their feet.

"So," Kuldor said, "are you going to try and kill me now?"

Shanna winced, "An hour ago, I would have been more than willing. However, in the last hour, I think that too much has happened for me to even consider the notion."

A silence fell.

"Kuldor?" Shanna said, eventually.

"Yeah?"

"I apologize for what I said, earlier. You know, before this whole mess."

"Apology accepted," Kuldor smiled.

"You helped me," she said, "and I don't just mean that in the fighting for our lives sense."

Kuldor nodded. He understood.

Looking back at the canyon, Kuldor was surprised when he felt something soft and warm at his cheek. Turning around, eyebrows raised, he saw Shanna standing next to him.

"Did you just-,"

"Thank you," she interrupted, "for everything."

Turning around, she began to walk out of the clearing.

She was surprised to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Kuldor behind her.

"Wha-?"

She was interrupted by his lips capturing hers in a kiss. She stood there stunned, then gradually began to return his affections.

Breaking the kiss, Kuldor smiled, "You didn't seriously think that after all that I was going to just let you walk away, did you?"

Shanna smirked, "How silly of me."

Kuldor held out his hand. Shanna took it. The two of them walked out of the clearing and toward the nearest road to civilization. They had had more than enough excitement for one day.

"So, Shanna…," Kuldor's voice echoed back through the trees, "if that whole fiasco was due to us being virgins… what do you say we rectify that situation?"

SLAP

"Ow! What?!"

The End.

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**Endnote**: There you have it: the story of Shanna and Kul'dor. Reviews will be cherished like teir-5 raid armor.


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